Server reboot will not display console (just post installation)

[TotallyTurtle]

Hello!

I have installed ESXi onto a Dell Poweredge 1950 with four SAS 60GB HDs and quad-core intel processors. The install seems to run fine, leading to the screen where I'm instructed to remove the CD and reboot the server, after which I'll be presented with the console. I reboot and all I can get is "There is no operating system installed".

All web searches (or google searches at least) throw up people who have problems but then use the console to fix them. I can find no-one else who cannot actually access the console.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Sam.

[Dave_Mishchenko]

Hi Sam, welcome to the VMware Community forums. Did you have anything installed on the RAID array before you installed ESXi?

[TotallyTurtle]

Hi Dave,

Thank you very much for your reply. There is no RAID on the server - the four disks stand alone. As far as I know they were all completely bare, apart from the utility partition on the first disk that was shipped with the server.

Sam.

2008/9/24 Dave.Mishchenko <communities-emailer@vmware.com<mailto:communities-emailer@vmware.com>>

,

A new message was posted in the thread "Server reboot will not display console (just post installation)":

http://communities.vmware.com/message/1057429#1057429

Author : Dave.Mishchenko

Profile : http://communities.vmware.com/people/Dave.Mishchenko

Message:

[Dave_Mishchenko]

I recall a similar post from a few weeks ago in which the install would go fine, but then it would try to boot from the wrong disk. You might want to go with just one disk to see if that is the case for you as well.

[TotallyTurtle]

Well I actually installed ESXi on all of the disks, so that whichever it chose to boot from it would still encounter the software. Still no joy.

We've also changed the boot order and deselected everything apart from the first HD, but now it presents a "No boot filename provided" error when trying to load the PXE.

The first HD came pre-formatted with a C: drive on it though, which I was slightly confused about. Dell acting on their own there.

[robertortel]

I had the problem on my own with 2 SATA disk and helped someone else here in this forum with this issue too. But all we did is to install ESXi on some other disk. I had to install ESXi on the second disk to get it working (no matter what was given in boot order) and the other user seems to have unplugged all other devices to made the install work:

http://communities.vmware.com/message/1045652

Robert